Haunted
by s. rivers
Summary: 100 years ago all of the Uchiha clan was massacred. 100 years later, Sakura Haruno moves into one of the Uchiha's old houses. But she's got more on her hands then expected. A ghost, a pervert, and a web of revenge.
1. The Uchiha Betrayal

**Decided to delete the other one and combine the prolog with the chapter. Would make more sense. Anyway, I don't really like the first chapter. But enjoy!**

**BTW: and I changed and name.**

**BTW again: SPELLING MISTAKES, I KNOW! MY COMPUTER IS RETARTED!**

**Enjoy!**

…………………………………………………

_The year was 1906. One on cold December day, two hundred people lost their lives all under one man. _

_Uchiha Itachi. _

_The night was cold, and stars specked the sky. The snow that had been previously falling had stopped, making the streets of the Uchiha village as quiet as could be. A lone raven-haired boy stumbled his way through the streets, his crimson eyes slowly fading. He clutched his shoulder, wincing in pain every now and then. _

"_DAMN YOU BROTHER!" the boy, Sasuke, screamed. Tears seemed to threaten his crimson eyes, but he pushed them away. He was still breathing hard as he collapsed in the snow. His brother's voice echoed in his ears._

"_With this curse," Itachi had said, removing his hand from Sasuke's back. "You will wander the world forever, neither going to heaven or hell." _

"_WHY!" Sasuke spat, spitting out some blood. He gripped his shoulder in pain. _

_Itachi didn't answer. Instead he took his sword and slid it into Sasuke's side. "Have fun little brother," he whispered. _

_Sasuke could take it no longer. He looked around at the blood filled walls of his own village and collapsed in the snow. _

_Wandering the world forever…_

_His brother. His one and only brother had betray him and the entire Uchiha clan. _

_Sasuke didn't fear death anymore. He had feared it when he tried to protect his clan. But now, death seemed like a good thing. But now, the curse mark on his shoulder would make him live…forever… _

_And on December 24th 1906, Sasuke Uchiha along with the rest of his village were murdered. _

……………………………………………………………………………

**Chapter one**

_**The Uchiha mansion **_

100 years later, a pink haired girl stood in the exact spot where Sasuke Uchiha had died.

"Could you have picked a darker house?" she demanded. Her guardian, named Tsunade, shook her head.

"Can't you be satisfied for once, Sakura?" Tsunade asked, rolling her eyes.

Sakura Haruno studied the house. It had to be the darkest one in the block. It looked like most of the other houses in this section of the village, but bigger. Almost all of the houses had no one in them, which Sakura found pretty odd since they were all mansions.

"Shall we have a look inside?" Tsunade asked.

"Wait for me!" a voice shouted from behind. Sakura sighed. Here we go.

"Hey everyone," a spiky-haired blond said. "The damn moving guy wouldn't let me unpack the ramen yet."

"Bakka," Sakura mumbled.

"Naruto, your mouth," Tsunade reminded.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Wow! We have the biggest house on the entire block!"

He beamed. "Come on, Sakura-chan! Let's explore!"

Sakura felt a smile creep onto her face. Naruto had been with her since she was six years old. Even if he was the biggest idiot in the world, she always seemed to look past that and see Naruto for who he really was: I kind hearted idiot.

"Coming?" Naruto asked.

"If I must," the pink haired girl replied dully. Naruto grabbed her hand and dragged her into the house.

Sakura had to admit, the house was nice. The walls were painted a navy blue, and various paintings of cherry blossoms were hung on the walls. The wooden floors were made of deep red mahogany and even if they were slightly dusty, they seemed to glow. Sakura noticed the furniture was lower and more old-fashioned.

"How old is this house?" she asked Tsunade who had appeared beside her.

"This house is very, very old," her guardian explained. "More then a hundred years, I presume. It belong to one of the strongest tribes in the Hidden Leaf: the Uchiha."

"The Uchiha?" Sakura asked. "Weren't they killed off a long time ago?"

Tsunade nodded quietly. "Yes, they were. Only one survivor was left, but he disappeared. The rest were gone."

"Hey! Look at the back yard!" Naruto called from another room. Sakura rolled her eyes. If Uchiha's had died here, they must have been very disappointed to have a loud obnoxious idiot yelling around their house. Sakura could almost feel one of them their, watching the scene in disgust and shaking their heads.

"Why don't you go check out the rooms?" Tsunade suggested. Sakura nodded and made her way down the hall and up a staircase. The boards creaked under her sandals, and the girl shivered. She felt the room all of the sudden get colder.

Suddenly a flashback overtook her. Back when her and Naruto were younger, they had told ghost stories to each other before bed. Once, Naruto had explained that when a room suddenly got colder, it meant a ghost was near.

Sakura shivered and tried to shake of the feeling creeping her mind. Panic seemed to rise in her throat as she climbed higher up the stares.

Finally, as if she had walked a mile, the stairs ended and lead into a long hallway.

"Hmmm," she said, sliding her hand against the wall as she walked. The doors sliding doors with cloudy windows so no one could see through them. Things up here looked less dusty then the downstairs.

Sakura suddenly stopped, hearing a strange noise form behind one of the doors. The air suddenly changed to a crisp cold air, making Sakura shiver. What was that?

Gathering up her strength, she pulled open the door.

Her jade eyes collided with crimson red eyes.

"WHAT THE HELL!"

Sakura let out a loud scream and flew back slamming into the wall. Whatever she had seen seemed to be surprised too, but Sakura didn't get a good look at the person because she took off down the hall, screaming.

"SAKURA!" Tsunade and Naruto shouted and ran up the stairs. Sakura smashed into them, sending them all flying down the stairs.

"There's…someone….up…there…." Sakura said, panting.

Naruto stood up, brushing himself off. "Jeez. You didn't have to yell about it."

"Wait, there's someone up there?" Tsunade asked. "Was it a mover?"

"He had red eyes! That isn't normal, Tsunade!"

"Why don't I go look?" Naruto asked as Tsunade sighed.

Sakura nodded and pointed up the stairs. "He was in the last room on the left."

Naruto nodded and made his way up the stairs, Sakura close behind. Tsunade had gotten board and left the scene, knowing it was all just a silly hoax and Sakura was just seeing things.

Sakura held Naruto's hand as the two made their way down the hall. Naruto slid open the door and looked around. "Wow, it's awfully cold in here, don't you think Sakura-chan?"

"Naruto, can we focus on the guy I saw!"

"Oh, right," Naruto said. He looked around. "Sakura, I think you were seeing things."

"I was seeing things! I saw a damn man in this room and I'm not going in here until you find him!"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "It's fine, Sakura-chan. You must have been all scared when you came up here."

Sakura nodded. "Alright, well um…you can go now." She shoved the blond out of the room before he could call her a baby or anything.

The pink haired girl sighed and glanced around the room. It was the nicest room she had seen so far, she had to admit.

But it was awfully cold.

Rubbing her bare arms Sakura made her way over to the window. It overlooked the garden, which was very dead-looking. Sakura felt sorry, because it could have been beautiful if someone had been here to tend it.

Something seemed to brush against Sakura's back and she shivered again at the creeping coldness. Clutching her arms, she made her way over to the bed and sat down.

Something on the dresser caught her eyes. A picture? She picked up the photo, studying the people. Damn. It must have been of a family. There were two boys, each one really handsome, and then their was a mother and a father.

The photo was in black and white, and worn around the edges. It must have belonged to whoever lived here last.

"Interesting," Sakura said and turned the photo in her hands. She noticed something on the written back:

Sasuke Uchiha.

"Which one is Sasuke?" she asked no one in particular.

Another burst of coldness seem to sweep through the room, and Sakura shivered and set the photo down.

There was something in this room that drew her towards it. She hated the coldness and emptiness, but she liked the presence. She had seen someone there, and she could feel them. But it was probably just her imagination.

…………………………………

**Yup. That's the first chapter. It sucks, I know, but please tell me if I could continue! I don't like to write for nothing!**

**Hee hee. But if you could, please.**


	2. Delivery

**Holy fxck. I haven't updated in six months! My GOD. That is so long, I can't believe it. Creepy.**

**I'm Sorry to infinity, guys. To the max. This school year has been awful, I've gained friends and lost friends, I've failed things, and blah.**

**I'm not In good shape.**

**But I was accepted into this school, so yeah. I couldn't be happier :D**

…………………………………………………

"Its that house Naruto. It's that damn house."

Haruno Sakura twirled a lock of pink hair in her fingers, glaring at her step brother. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"You're ever reacting, sis," he said. "It was just a mover, you know it."

"Do not," Sakura huffed. "There was defiantly a boy with red eyes in my room. I saw him!"

"Sakura, eat your eggs!" Tsunade instructed sternly from her place by the stove. "And your also coming with me to the hospital today. In this booklet thing, it says that you need service hours for school."

"The hospital? EW!" Sakura said, spreading her eggs all over her plate. "I think I'd puke."

Tsunade shook her head. "I really don't get you."

"I'm lucky!" Naruto chanted. "I'm helping out at the local ramen shop. In your face, Sakura!"

"I'd barf from that too," Sakura said lazily. "Seeing you stuff down ramen like the pig you are."

Standing up from the table, Sakura grabbed her purse.

"Naruto make sure you lock the doors," Tsunade called, starting towards the front door.

"Don't get eaten by that ghost!" Sakura called, waving.

"Shut up! It's not real!"

"I hope he eats you."

……………………………………………………………………………

The sounds, the smells, even the _people _of the hospital seemed to give Sakura the chills. There were no windows in the halls, casting eerie shadows even during the day. The people seemed brittle, getting annoyed quickly and taking no breaks.

"Tsunade, thank goodness you're finally here!" said a nurse. She looked over worked, and too young to be a nurse. Her short dark hair clamped to her forhead and beads of sweat dotted her face. But her uniform clearly stated she was a captain.

"I'm Shizune, and I'm going to be your assistant."

"Kay," Tsunade said casually. "This is my foster child, Sakura. She'll be helping us as well."

Shizune nodded. "Yes, that is fine. She can get service hours for delivering meals to the patients. Tsunade, you go right to your office. I'll get Sakura her uniform and send her off."

Tsunade nodded and turned the other way wile Sakura was shooed down the hall.

"What size do you think you are?" Shizune asked, hurriedly walking down the hall.

"Um…I don't know," Sakura said. _I'd never been measured for a hospital outfit before, genius! _

Shizune grabbed a uniform. "Hurry up and get changed behind that curtain. I'm going to get the trey cart."

As soon as she shut the door, Sakura sighed. "She moves to fast," she thought as she quickly got undressed and put on the uniform. She shivered.

"Hurry!" Shizune bellowed. Sakura pushed open the door and a trey was immediately shoved into her hands. "Take this to room 204, and hurry up! Your ordering list is on the cart, and meet me back here at 13OO hours."

"Huh?" Sakura asked. She had no idea what 1300 hours was.

Shizune stopped and turned around. "Sakura, watch out for room 666. Itachi-sama is in there."

"What's there to watch out about him for?"

"How old are you?"

"…fourteen. Why?"

She shook her head. "Nothing Sakura. Just watch out. Now off!"

Sakura nodded and hurried with the orders.

…………………………………………………………….

The moods of the hospital were almost worse then the lighting. Not only was it dark, but most of the rooms Sakura visited were full of patients who were on there death beds. Some were always asleep, some where wide awake in pain. Sakura would say a polite hello, give them there trey, and tell them to enjoy their disgusting food and slip out as fast as she could. Finally, the room she had been most curious about: Itachi-sama.

As soon as Sakura opened the door, she felt it. A cold, hard feeling suddenly slammed into her face like a brick. She stood there a moment, out of breath. It felt like pressure was being forced down on her own skin, like the air was filling up.

The room had no lights at all. It was just as dark as the hallway. Sakura could hardly make out the bathroom door, which was supposed to be right beside her. The room felt so uncomfortable, Sakura turned her heal and was about to leave.

"Hey," someone called. The voice was dark, and emotionless. "Who's there?"

Sakura turned her head around slightly. "Um…I'm here to uh…deliver your food."

"Well then bring it in."

Sakura froze. Every thought in her head was to get out of that room with this strange man, but something called her to stay wile the other parts forced her through the door. Before she could stop herself, her hands gripped the trey and she walked more into the room, getting swallowed by the darkness.

"Bout damn time. I'm fucking starved."

_He's a gentlemen. _Sakura blindly handed out the trey.

Something grabbed her wrist, and Sakura let out a small gasp.

"Hey," the voice said, sounding amused. "Who are _you_?"

Sakura didn't answer.

"Oh come on, I'm not going to stalk you or anything if I just know your name."

Still nothing.

"Helllooo, who are you?"

"Your fucking maid," Sakura said. She stopped. Shit.

"Oh, well then…"

Sakura's hands flew to the wall and blindly felt for a light switch as soon as she heard someone moving closer to her. The grip on her wrist tightened.

The moment she felt the light switch she clicked it on. The room brightened, and the darkness revealed a man who looked like he was seventeen.

That's when she saw it.

His eyes.

"FUCK!" he shouted, he whipped the tray out of her hands and Sakura screamed as her rampaged through the room, his lunch raining down on Sakura and the floor.

"My eyes! My fucking eyes!" he screamed.

Sakura stood still in shock for a moment, before reacting. "Sit down, sit down!" she commanded.

"Screw you! I'll do what I want!" the man scoffed back.

_So much for that. This guy is too fucking stubborn. _

"Listen, if you stay still, I can see what's wrong with your eyes." Oh god. That was such a lie. Sakura had no clue what she was doing at all, and there was no way in hell she would cure this guy's pain.

"You're the one who fucking hurt it!" he shouted.

"What did I do!?" Sakura shouted.

"Turned on the light, that's what," the man grumbled. "I can't belive they didn't tell you not to turn on the light."

The man slumped onto the bed, holding his eyes. "Whatever. I don't care."

The two stood in silence for a moment before Sakura moved back to turn out the lights.

"Hey," he called after her.

Sakura stopped and turned around. "If it's about your lunch, I'll just get another one from the kitchen. Sorry about that."

"It's not that. I still don't know your name yet. I'm Uchiha Itachi."

As soon as he said that, a cold feeling passed through Sakura and a chill ran up her spine. The name seemed somewhat familiar, as if she had heard it before. I distant memory floated in her mind. Where had she heard that name? A dream, perhaps?

"I'm Haruno Sakura," she said. "I'll send a nurse to give you your lunch. I'm too busy to come back."

"Wait, how old are you?" Itachi called after her.

"Fourteen, why?"

"Nothing, you just look a lot older."

"I do?"

"And pretty…"

Sakura blushed and picked up the tray from off the floor. "I uh, got to go."

…………………………………

"Itachi Uchiha, Uchiha Itachi, Itachi Uchiha…" Sakura muttered. She was alone in her room, her feet strait up against the wall, her eyes staring directly at the ceiling.

Her room was so cold. She shivered. "13 stains on the ceiling, Itachi Uchiha. Where have I heard that name before?"

She rolled off the bed and opened the drawer by her bedside. After rummaging through some old letters and papers, she pulled out a photo. The photo of the little boys and their parents.

"Wait, _Uchiha_?" she asked herself. "Itachi Uchiha! He has the same name as this little boy Sasuke Uchiha! They must be related."

Sakura studied the boy Sasuke's face. Then went on to the older boy.

"Hmm…Looks like Itachi," she said, running her fingers across the crinkling photo. "Weird."

Across the room, in a small closet, the door crept open a bit. It wasn't loud enough for Sakura to hear it. A boy with red eyes and black flecks in them

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**Sorry for mess ups. Forgive me D:**

**And once again, sorry for the LONG wait. **

**No one knows HOW hard it was to write this**

**I don't know why, but It was so hard Dx**

**K well. REVIEW.**


	3. Death Lips

**Wahoo! I'm alive! Sorry for the long wait, and the crappy chapter. But thank you everyone who reviewed! I was thinking about deleting it, but your reviews stopped me…so I thank thee!**

**K, here's the 411. The "T" key on my keyboard for my laptop fell off, completely, so I can't really write anymore. It's driving me INSANE. So I'm on my parents desktop. The buttons are all buldgy and weird. Bleh.**

**Ehhh,,, things are better. I can't believe Summer is like, halfway over. Breaks my heart! Last summer lasted so long, and now, it's going to be over in a few weeks. Word. School blows. ): **

**So yes! Enjoy! Review please :D **

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_**C**_**h**ap_**t**_**e**r**T**_w_**o**

_Death lips _

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"So how's life at the hospital, Sakura?"

For the fourth time, Sakura glanced up from her reading text book. The two were snuggled in the den, the TV flipped onto the cooking channel. Tsunade had a wad of paper work in her lap wile Sakura was finishing up some homework.

Tsunade had been asking a lot of questions. Maybe she was suspicious. I'm not hiding anything, Sakura thought. Yet.

"Good," she replied. "You should know. You're there."

"Not all the time. Shizune doesn't tell me everything," Tsunade replied, shrugging.

"How's school?"

"Good."

"Did you make any new friends?"

"Does Naruto count?"

Sakura could see Tsunade was getting frustrated. "Why are you so shy to people? I thought this hospital job would help you loosen up around certain people, like breaking the ice."

Sakura didn't answer. Her eyes returned to her book.

"Naruto made friends. Why can't you?"

Still nothing. The ticking of the clock in the family room was louder then ever, breaking the silence with constant ticking.

"You're so stubborn," Tsunade said, shaking her head.

Her child stood up. "I'm going to bed," she said. Tsunade knew she wasn't really going to sleep, but she had given up on trying to talk to her.

"Stupid Tsunade," Sakura said, tossing her books on the ground. She flopped on her bed, staring at the lard window viewing the garden. Well, it has used to be a garden. Now it was full of dead fossil plants. She glanced at the clock. 9:30.

"I have no friends," she said. "I'm such a nerd. Going to bed like this. At nine thirty!"

A river of tears pored out of her eyes before she could stop them. "Nerd, nerd, nerd. You're only friend is Naruto. GRR! What is wrong with you?!" 

After crying for a wile, something banged in her closet.

Sakura shot up off her bead, her heard racing. She wiped the snot from her nose and coughed.

"Oh thank god!" Someone said from her closet.

"Sakura, what's happening up there?" Tsunade yelled from downstairs.

"Uh—uh—I fell…" Sakura said. She blinked a few times, clearing her vision. Had she just heard someone talk? In her closet?

"And now you going crazy!" she sobbed.

"Oh for the love of god, SHUT UP woman! I can't take you!"

Before Sakura could scream, cry, run out of her room and cling to Tsunade telling her there was a ghost in her room, the closet door swung open. Her scream clogged in her throat and ended up as a huge mucus-filled cough.

"Thank the lord, you stopped crying," someone said harshly from the doorway of the closet. Burying her head in her pillows, Sakura chanted.

"Stop, imagination. You've gone to far. There is no monster standing in my closet, you're insane."

"You're the most insecure person I've ever met, you know?" the voice said. "I mean god, just because you don't have friends doesn't mean you suck. Come on, give yourself some credit."

"Not real. Not real."

Sakura stopped her chanting, and a heavy silence fell over her room. She moved her head off the pillow and peered around her bedroom from behind her mess of pink hair. Nothing. No one. "Knew it," she mumbled, cursing her over creative mind for doing this too her.

Rolling over off her belly and onto her back, she stared up at the ceiling. Her eyes felt puffy and hurt when she opened them She grabbed her glasses and slid them on.  
Sakura was loosing it. Her head felt messed up. Ever since she had seen those red eyes in her room the first day she had moved here, her mind had been going off on stupid ghosts.

"Stupid," she muttered and tossed her books on the floor, ignoring Tsunade's "You sound like a friggen buffalo!" call from downstairs.

Sakura snuggled under her pillows and blankets, along her only friend. Moogle, her weird looked stuffed animal she had bought at a garage sale 8 years ago safely tucked beside her. "I don't need anyone else," she told him.  
Slowly, she drifted into a troubled sleep.

…………………………………………………………………

**Sakura POV. **

I wasn't sure when I had woken up, or how—I remember something cold as ice edge across the side of my cheek before I awoke, my eyes snapping open and a strange sound erupting from my hoarse, dry throat. I sat there for a moment, still as could be, holding my breath. My room was the same as before; textbooks littering the floor, my stuffed animal tucked under the comforter beside me, pillows sprawled on my carpet.

The room looked the same, but it wasn't. It was very different.

I was Ninety-nine-point-nine percent sure I was dreaming. The reasons that made it so certain was because the room was horribly colder, so cold a mist of frost had covered the window frame to my left, and goosebumps were scattered across my arm. I looked around, alarmed, noting it was much too cold to have frost. It was hardly past September.

The closet door was wide open, and clothes were thrown in heaps around the entrance. I adjusted my glasses and stood up, wandering when I was going to realize I was just dreaming and wake up. I stretched, suddenly at ease, since I realized anything I saw or felt wasn't real.

Or was it.

And then it happened.

Something shot out of my closet, their body colliding with mine and pinning me to the bed. I let out a yelp, my body to stunned to react. For a few seconds I was frozen, numb all over, and heavy weight crushed my lungs and made me gasp for air. A hand clasped itself over my mouth, it's thumb pressing hard against my cheek bone around the temple of my eyes.

_It's just a dream…It's just a dream…_

By the passing seconds I wrestled the person on top of me, the phrase had become less reliable. I did everything: Kicking, struggling, biting…but nothing worked. Cold lips were pressed against my ear, the person breathing slowly, as if almost carefree. They seemed unfazed by my attempts of escaping, and every time I would bite their hand or kick their legs, they pushed themselves further on me, their lips still pressed against my ear.

"You can see me…" a voice whispered, tickling my ear, allowing me to jerk. The voice was full despair, desire, and dare I say it—_death. _

My heart raced, a fresh batch of goosebumps settling on my arm. I was frozen for a moment, and for a second I believe it was because I was so cold, so cold being underneath this man, I felt as if I was just a sheet of ice waiting to be shattered.

"You…hear me…"

It happened fast. First, I was beneath him, pinned against my bed with his lips on my ear, and then I was torn from my position and thrown towards the wall, my elbows slamming against it and throwing me to the floor. I scrambling onto my knees, panting, shaking.

It was just a dream, right? No…no, it wasn't. I began to realize this a moment after he had thrown me against the wall, a moment after pain had shot through my arm when I landed on it.

You can't feel anything in dreams, can you?

My glasses tumbled across the hardwood floor, and I was planning on screaming, but my criminal had other plans in store for me. He grabbed my arms and pinned me against the wall, jerking my head to the side. His hand slid over my mouth once more, sending shivers down my spine. His lips danced across my neck, almost nuzzling against it.

"So…smooth…" he whispered, his breath tickling my skin.

I was breathing hard, his chest digging into mine as I took my air in short pants. I couldn't believe I was even here…it had happened so fast.

I couldn't see the face of the person in front of me, since it was the middle of the night and the hall light had been turned off thanks to Tsunade. Maybe if I could have yelled loud enough, even if his hand muffled my voice, Naruto would wake up and sweep through the door to rescue me.

Or maybe not.

My captor dropped me in a flash, causing me to slam back against the wall and slide onto the floor. I froze as he loomed over me, his shadow blending with the dark room behind him. He didn't say anything too me, he didn't whisper any of those hoarse words like he had before.

He surprised me. Raising his foot, his leg collided with my head, sending me back into the wall and a splintering pain shoot across my scull.

And I fell into a dreamless, troubled, unconscious sleep.


	4. Massacre

**YO.**

**So, I'm in an updating spree—yippee! Lucky you! I updated Chat Room of Doom, which hasn't been updated since October of 2006, thank you very much. Proud of me yet? AND I'm updating this one too. So far, it's going along alright, except yeah I am sort of dragging-it-out, in a way. But don't worry, by next chapter everything will have fallen into place and you'll see where this is going. **

**If you don't know, my laptop died. So I'm stuck with the desktop, which isn't in my room, and shared by my family, so it's hard to get on and get privacy at the same time. But I'm trying!**

**Enjoy and review please **

**Sorry for spelling errors and typos. I'm lazy. **

* * *

When I opened my eyes, pale morning sun had drifted through my almost-closed curtains. I was sprawled on the hardwood floor, resting my head on my arm. My glasses were only a few feet away, by my bed. 

So it hadn't been a dream.

"Sakura!" Tsunade bellowed from the kitchen downstairs, her voice clearly stating she hadn't drank her morning coffee yet. "Wake up, breakfast!"

I scrambled up on my feet in an instant, my eyes scanning the calendar to the left of my bed. Shit. Tuesday; meaning I was going to have to go with Tsunade to the hospital and be a Candy Striper. Shit!

I threw on a pare of faded jeans and an old navy t-shirt and brushed my hair, pushing on my glasses. I was becoming an expert at getting ready in the morning without looking in the mirror.

"Morning!" Naruto greeted as I slumped into the kitchen, his toast hanging from his mouth, his fork digging into ketchup filled eggs. "You look stunning, Sissy."

"Shut it," I hissed, realizing my emotions weren't varying today as they usually did. I felt either angry, numb, or dead. I poured myself a glass of juice and gulped it down. The pulp burned my throat.

"Hurry up," Tsunade hissed from the hallway by the door, her keys in her hands and coat on her shoulders. She was obviously ready to walk out the door, wile I was still shoeless and hadn't even eaten anything yet.

I slipped into some sandals and grabbed a jacket before running after Tsunade at the door. I failed to realize, though, that the crisp fall weather had kicked in over night, explaining why there had been frost on my window.

Idiot. My toes were frozen before I caught up to Tsunade.

* * *

The hospital was quiet, as usual, the halls stretching for endless miles as Sakura pushed her dinner cart up and down, constantly running back down to the kitchen and complaining someone had the wrong juice flavor.

By the time she arrived at Itachi's room, her mood was so bad she wasn't up for anything the man had to offer her, or any shit he would try to pull. She hoped he was a patient who didn't remember anything past a day, so he would have just forgotten a "Sakura" ever existing and ruining his lunch.

Fat chance.

Seeing that she was going to have to face the man whether she wanted to or not, she grabbed his tray from below the cart and pushed open his door, remembering not to turn on the light.

"Ah, Cherry, you're back."

_Cherry? _

Sakura was surprised to see that a red light flickered by the small windowsill, the bulb making an eerie buzzing sound. Itachi was hunched in the corner, a book in his hands. He smiled at her, a crooked, sly smile, his eyes twinkling in the red glare. "Didn't think you'd come back."

"Orders," Sakura hissed, setting his tray down on his bed. "If you have any complaints of the food, tell me now so I can fix it and save me the trouble of making any more trips to the kitchen."

"Grumpy now, aren't we? You look dazzling."

Sakura reached back to smooth down her pink hair, her eyes shooting a glare at the man in the chair. She didn't reply as she opened up his water bottle for him, biting her lip to keep back any rude remarks she could have made.

He sat there, still, waiting for her reply. Noticing this, Sakura let out a sigh.

"Rough night."

Itachi nodded, as if he knew what had happened late last night and felt some pity for the girl.

"Well, enjoy your lunch."

As soon as Sakura had turned around, Itachi scrambled up from his chair, grabbing her wrist. Sakura let out a surprised yelp and yanked back, slamming her backside into a wall behind her. Itachi stood, towering above her, the dim light allowing her too see his infamous smirk across his face.

"What happened? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Matter of fact I have. Now move," she whispered, brushing past him and wrapping her fingers around the food cart. Before she could race to the exit, Itachi put a hand on her shoulder.

"There are a lot of ghosts in this town, Miss Cherry. They're everywhere, you just have too look for them. They only show themselves if they've got some business with you."

Sakura pushed the cart, which hit into his leg. He jumped back, surprised.

"Excuse me," she whispered, trying to hide the shakiness in her voice. "But I'm leaving."

And she left.

* * *

Tsunade and I went out to dinner at a Ramen shop after our shifts. As soon as we sat down at the bar, I immediately decided I'd better ask the question that had been gnawing at the back of my mind for the past few weeks I'd lived here. So I cleared my throat, let Tsunade settled down in her barstool, and asked, 

"Tsunade, why is our part of town so…abandoned? Is it because everyone says it's haunted?"

Tsunade took a sip of sake and shrugged, as if this question was of no importance. "Well, people have this superstition that's it's cursed land. That twisted people live there, with twisted souls or something. I don't know."

"Is that why we live there?" I mumbled.

She laughed loudly, her face already flushed from her sake. "No! It's because they've got the nicest houses, and gardens, too."

"But you don't garden."

"That doesn't mean I can't start, now does it? A woman can try new things!"

"But why is that part of town so twisted?" I asked.

"Who knows? Maybe because something happened there a long time ago, like a hundred years ago or something. Someone died."

"Someone?" said the old chef, obviously eavesdropping on our conversation. He leaned over. "You mean a whole part of town was massacred! The Uchihas, they were called…you live in the deserted place by the edge of town, yes?"

"Yeah," I replied. Tsunade was busy spinning in her chair. "What's so bad about it?"

"Well," the chef said, glancing around, as if no one could overhear this conversation or else we'd be in trouble. He leaned over the counter and close to me, so close I could smell gross onions in his breath.

"A hundred years ago, someone killed the entire Uchiha clan, _everyone. _But after they cleaned up the mess and put the houses for sail, the few people who bought them started disappearing, as if they were never there at all. Their belongings were gone too, and everything was just how it'd been when the Uchiha clan was alive. People said they saw strangers there all the time, old-and funny looking. Everyone is convinced that it's the peoples spirits, looking for the man who killed them all that dark night so long ago."

I wasn't sure how to respond to this. "Are there any Uchiha's left?"

"I'm not sure about that. All living in that part of town were found dead. The body count was endless. Maybe some distant relatives of Uchiha's are still around, but who knows?"

I shivered. Uchiha Itachi, he was one of the distant Uchiha relatives, wasn't he?

I ended up walking home.

After our dinner, Tsunade thought I'd be fun to go drinking with her old childhood friend, some guy whose name started with a J. I was too tired to bother asking when we'd head home, since she was already wasted, and I decided to leave her with her friend to deal with her.

But of course, by the time I walked home it was far past sunset. The gates of my part of town were wide open and welcoming, but the dark shadows that were cast by the full moon outside was not.

There aren't many people who live on this side of town. It's one of the oldest parts of Konoha, I hear, and the reason is just as Itachi said: they think it's full of ghosts. It's ironic I met a ghost just when Itachi told me about them, and ass confusing as that is, I feel excited. As if I've been chosen for something far more important then being a candy striper at the hospital.

I entered the gates and started home. A few stray streetlights flickered, but they burnt out as soon as I walked by. I was suddenly afraid.

Well, that's normal, since I was in the deserted part of town, at night, with no streetlights visible. And of course some freak was leaning against an unlit lamppost, as if on cue, to add to my building fear. He was dressed in strange clothes, old and rugged, with a scarf wrapped around his neck. Although it wasn't cold enough for a scarf, he looked dressed for the next ice age to come.

As soon as I walked by, I heard him mumble something. I ignored him, hoping he was just talking to himself, or someone else that happened to be walking around this part of town late at night. But he said something again, this time louder, so that I was sure it was directed towards me.

_Fuck, _I breathed silently and started walking faster. The temperature seemed to drop a few degrees as I sped-walked through the neighborhood, fear rising from my stomach to my throat.

"Hey," he called out from behind me. "You come around here often?"

I didn't answer. I kept walking, on the brink of running. I could tell he was fallowing me, but I couldn't hear him behind me, only from the sound of his voice. His feet made no footsteps, and he had no ragged breath.

I swung around to face him, ready to use the pen in my pocket as an armed weapon if necessary at any moment. "Buzz off!" I snapped.

But before I could turn around and run back home, I noticed who he was.

His hair was black, blacker then I had ever seen in my life. The color of the night sky without stars, the color of the dark black ocean depths, the color of inky black tar, all woven into one shade of a dark rainbow. His skin was so pale, it was almost translucent, and I swore I could see the old lamppost behind him through his body. The clothes, old and rugged, only added to his strange look.

But the thing that I noticed most was his eyes. Red, crimson, every single shade of red imaginable, with flecks as dark as his hair.

Plus he was hot. Amazingly, awfully, horribly, _hot. _Beautiful, even, even though he was a male, it didn't matter. The way his face was angled, the way it looked against the dark street, it was strikingly _beautiful._

His looks nearly knocked the wind out of me. I took a breath, biting my lip. He could tell I'd noticed and was shocked by the way he looked, so a smirk formed at the corner of his mouth and broke into a deadly smile.

"So, pink-haired-girl," he said, running his hand over his cheek. "You've noticed how different I look."

I didn't answer.

"So you _can _see me. What I want to know is why. Do you remember who I am?"

"The boy," I breathed. "The boy in my room last night—"

"The boy in the picture," he replied. "Very good, pinky. Very good indeed. So how old are you?"

I didn't answer; I couldn't. My mind wasn't focused on his words, but more his eyes, that strange shade of red…what could it be? He didn't look human; that was for sure. He looked so inhumanly beautiful, I had trouble looking at anything surrounding him but him himself.

He could tell this, too.

He reached his arm out and his fingers brushed my lips. I was so shocked, his hand had moved so fast, I nearly jumped back in response. But he held his fingers there for a moment before letting them fall neatly to his sides.

"Impossible," I said. "I'm dreaming."

"That's what you'd think, isn't it? You'd think your dreaming. How like people today. They can't believe anything as horrible as ghosts, can they?"

I wasn't sure how to respond to this, so I whispered, "Who _are _you?"

"Uchiha Sasuke," he said with a wink. "And your Haruno Sakura."

A ghost. A real live ghost, a ghost of the Uchiha Massacre, was standing before me, smirking.

"I'll be seeing _you_," he said. "Soon. Very soon."

And then he walked away. As soon as I blinked, he was gone, disappeared into the darkening night. He was replaced by a figure.

The streetlights and lamps flickered back on suddenly, and Tsunade appeared, stumbling and trudging through the lights, a sloppy grin on her face.

"Hey Sakura," she said, putting an arm around me. "I thought you'd left days ago!"

"Something like that," I managed to say, and I helped her home.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey! Finally, another update, Well, it's been a good six monthes, so I'm sorry for that. But, I got a new laptop back in June, and I've had this chapter finished for about a month, but I never got around to proof-read it.**

**Still didn't, so exuse me for typos and a misuse of words, I'm lazy. **

**PLEASE REVIEW! It will seriously make my day like ten times better to know people read this crap. **

* * *

_You can't see me, you can't see me!_

_But then again, have you ever really looked?_

Haruno Sakura stood outside of room 666, her hand falling on the doorknob, then off, then back on. This continued for a wile before a nurse shuffled down the hallway and gave her a strange look, and she could only smile and open the door.

As usual, it was pitch-black, the only source of vision fueled by a flickering red bulb that was tucked in the corner. From her doorway, she could see Itachi Uchiha sitting by the bulb, a hand over his eyes, leaning against a desk.

"Food," she said, pushing in her cart, wheeling it over towards his silhouette. He glanced up through half opened eyes, not even giving her a smile.

"Itachi?" she asked harshly, and then she realized how frail he looked. The red light cast an eerie glow onto him, as if she was looking through a stained-red window, his skin pasty and translucent. His eyes, his crimson red eyes, were tinted a more then usual, millions of veins jutting out towards the pupil.

"Itachi?" she asked softly, suddenly realizing that he may have indeed been crying. She nearly pushed the car into the wall as she hurried towards him.

"Are you—"

"It's not a good day today," he croaked in a hoarse whisper, covering his eyes again.

"Itachi, I—"

And then he pointed towards the half opened door, not even gracing her with one last look. Sakura glanced at the cart, where his tray of a tuna sandwich and an apple and drink was neatly laid out for him. Carefully, she set it down next to him, and he made no intention of recognizing that she was still there.

For a moment, she stood there, watching him. The light buzzed loudly, growing more audible by the instant, so loud that Sakura almost wanted to smash it. She had the strangest urge to hug Itachi right then; he looked so pale, so fragile, as if he would break under the slightest touch.

Without hesitating any longer, she slowly pushed the cart towards the door, where she stopped once more and turned back. The buzz was still growing, louder and louder, until she heard someone reach over and _click, _it was gone, leaving the room in total darkness.

* * *

As soon as her shift was over and Sakura was able to go home, she hurried into her house, where Naruto and his new friend were sitting at the kitchen table, eating sandwiches.

"Hey ugly!" Naruto grinned as she set her bag down on the kitchen table, running her fingers through her hair. She grimaced as a little puppy clawed at her heals, suddenly irritated.

"Shut up, you sack of crap," she snarled as she fixed herself a glass of water. Beside Naruto, Kiba laughed.

"Someone sounds peachy."

Sakura suddenly stopped as she dug through the refrigerator for something to eat, and sniffed the air. "Why the hell does it smell like apples in here?"

"Tsunade said the house smelled gross," Naruto said, pointing to a red-scented candle, set just on the table. "But I said it was just Kiba's dog."

"Shut up!" Kiba scowled.

Suddenly, Sakura stopped. She turned around and stared at the candle, and an idea brewed inside of her mind. "Naruto, let's play a game."

Naruto looked up, bewildered.

"Let's try and contact the dead."

Ten minutes later, the three sat in a circle on the hardwood floor of Sakura's room, the apple candle burning brightly in the center. All of them were holding hands, and the picture of the Uchiha family was laid out before them, their eerie faces staring blankly into their own.

"Ooh, I'm holding Sakura's hand!" Kiba teased, squeazing her fingers. Sakura ripped her hand away and glared.

"Shut up. Now, who knows how to do this thing?"

"Candles…holding hands…picture…I guess we just sit there and wait."

"For what?" Naruto hissed. "The sun to dye out? I've got stuff to do."

Sakura rolled her eyes; she should have done this alone. For a moment, the three sat in perfect silence, the only sound being Kiba's dog licking himself (lord knows where) and the jingle of his collar. Sakura started dreaming about how much pet hair was going to be on her floor, wondering if she could sweep it up or if she would have to get the big vacuum—

"If your trying to contact me, you aren't doing a very good job."

Sakura looked up.

Sasuke Uchiha.

He was standing in front of the candle, his foot on the picture. His hands were in his pockets, staring down at them all with a bored expression.

"Oh my god!" Sakura shrieked, "NARUTO LOOK!"

Naruto looked around, "What?!" he yelled, standing up. Akamaru went berserk, barking and growling at Sasuke, who made a disgusted face, mumbling "I hate dogs."

"Can't you see him?!" Sakura shouted, pointing. "Can't you see him, Naruto?!"

Naruto looked into the center, where the candle was, then said; "I don't see anyone!"

"I'm scared!" Kiba whined, grabbing his insane dog and running out the door. Naruto was right behind him, both whimpering like little four-year-olds.

So much for that. Sakura rolled her eyes then turned back to where Sasuke was standing, his arms crossed, his feet inches from the candle's flame. With one swift motion of his foot, the candle flickered out.

"Okay, um," Sakura said, scratching the back of her head. Her fingers shook in fear, and she had trouble keeping herself balanced. What the hell was she supposed to say? _"So, Sasuke, I know you've probably been here a long time…in this room, I mean, and I think maybe it's time you move on to a better room…perhaps Naruto's? Yeah, his, it's a lot bigger and has a nice view of the garden. Or Tsunade's, hers is the master bedroom! What's that, you want to be in the living room where you can watch TV? Well lucky you, cause we've got a comfy couch! And that's not it, you can—"_

"Oh god, you are so spacey," Sasuke hugged, his arms crossed over his chest. "Can't you focus for like five minutes, or do you just have sever ADHD?"

"I have never freaking talked to a GHOST before!" Sakura shrieked, and all at once she felt the sudden fear of there being a ghost in her room. She backed up against the wall, her arms flailing for something of protection—all she came up with was a bottle of contact cleaner and a plaque she won last year for a science fair.

"You know," Sasuke said, a smirk on the corner of his lips. "I think me and you can get along just fine."

"Get along!" She screamed. "Your DEAD!"

"Am I?"

It took her a moment to realize that he was mocking her. She cleared her throat, and straitened up her back. Taking a breath, she said, "Why are you haunting my house?"

"It's not your house," the Uchiha replied simply, "It's mine."

"Not anymore," Sakura replied. "If it was yours, then we wouldn't have been able to buy it. But, we were, so—"

"So that means you can invade my house!" Sasuke snapped, narrowing his eyes. "Just because of a piece of paper said you could!"

Sakura cringed, and she shrank back against the wall once more. Sasuke took a breath, and let out a long sigh. For a moment, the two stood there, him looking down on her with somewhat sympathetic eyes, her looking up at him in sheer terror.

"Listen, you," he said, regaining his harshness. "I need your help, kid, and I need it desperately."

"Why can I only see you?" Sakura whispered, tears suddenly running out of her eyes, dripping onto the floor. She wasn't quite sure why she was crying, and cursed herself for doing so. "Why can't anyone else see you?"

"Luck of the draw, my dear," Sasuke said, smirking. He shrugged. "Few people can see a guy like me, and it's strange I happen to meet up with one of those few people in this millennia."

Before she could say anything in reply, she heard someone thumping up the stairs. Sasuke must have heard it as well, because he glanced back at her and said, "Meet me in the garden tonight, at midnight. If you don't show up, take a good guess at what will happen."

Sakura took a breath, but as she was about to speak, Naruto suddenly burst through the door, a knife in hand.

"Sakura!" he bellowed, "Where is that zombie?!"

"Did you even see him, Naruto?" Kiba snapped from behind him, poking his head through the door. Akamaru scampered around their feet, sniffing the floorboards for some trace of Sasuke. But, he found none, and as Sakura turned back towards where Sasuke had once been, 

she found nothing but thin air and a slightly cold draft. The candle had been blown out, the picture untouched and solemn.

"Sakura!" Naruto cried, rushing towards her. "You're crying!"

Sakura then just realized that she was. She'd nearly forgotten. She touched her cheek, the tears cool beneath her fingers. One stray tear slipped off of her chin and plummeted towards the ground, landing on the picture, right on Sasuke's right eye and part of the older boy's left ear.

Slowly, she bent down and picked it up, her fingers still trembling. She ran her finger over Sasuke's childish face, and then over Itachi's strong face.

There was no proof that Itachi Uchiha, the mental patient in the hospital down the street, was this man in the photo. Though they had resemblance, Sakura suddenly realized that perhaps Itachi was related to him, as some far distant relative.

But there was proof for one thing. And that was the fact that Uchiha Sasuke was indeed, a ghost, that haunted her home and had been haunting her home for the last one hundred years.

* * *

Night had come too quickly. After dinner, Naruto filled Tsunade in of the strange incident of earlier, of contacting the dead with his step sister. Tsunade chucked and waved her hand,

"Oh, please, Don't tell me you believe in those things," she said to Sakura.

Sakura looked up at her guardian. She hesitated; why not tell them both? It would have made things easier, and perhaps she could have moved out of this home for good, leaving everything just how it was before everyone had come. Just how the Uchiha had left it.

But then again, she had a sudden flash of Sasuke's face, and she said, "No, I don't believe in those things, Tsunade."

Naruto could tell she was lying, but instead of arguing, he excused himself to go to bed.

After everyone had turned out the lights and the clock struck midnight, Sakura crept out of bed and hurried down the stairs, sliding open the back door. The garden, which had nearly dissolved with years of age, buzzed with bugs and the sound of hissing insects filled her ears. She took a paper lantern that rested on the ground and lit it from an old-fashioned lighter which was tucked on the inside, hanging it up on the low roof.

"You shouldn't touch peoples things, especially if they aren't yours," Sasuke said, appearing from behind. Sakura jumped, then spun around, her eyes wide.

"You _have _to stop doing that," she said, breathing hard. Her hearth thudded in her chest. "Now, tell me what you are."

"Isn't that quite obvious?" the Uchiha remarked. "I am a ghost. End of it."

"Ghost's aren't real," she said coolly. "Spirits are."

"A girl that can think. I like that," Sasuke remarked, smirking. Funny, Sakura suddenly realized that smirk was almost identical to that of Itachi.

"Yes, I am a spirit, but I am not dead, really. You are familiar with the Uchiha Massacre, am I right?"

"I am," Sakura breathed, swallowing. "Over a hundred years ago, correct?"

"Ding. A hundred years ago, a man named Uchiha Itachi murdered the entire part of this village, known as the Uchiha Clan.

Sakura sucked in her breath. No, no, no—_Itachi. _Could this mean that the man, the man with the identical eyes of Sasuke, could be just like him…a spirit? That couldn't be. Itachi could be seen by everyone, not just her—he was in the hospital, for Christ's Sake. But her mind flashed 

back towards the picture of the eldest boy and Sasuke himself; the two looked like brothers, and Itachi mysteriously resembled the eldest boy, by very much.

"He basically murdered every one who had lived within the districts limits," Sasuke continued, and he squinted up towards the sky. "But then, there was me."

Sakura felt the air turn chiller.

"Itachi did some sort of practice, much like magic or voodoo. And he was quite good with it, as well—he called them jutsus. It is some sort of Ancient act that the Japanese invented years ago, and it uses 'Chakra'—as in, your own life's energy."

That sounded beyond bizarre. Sakura felt herself nearly hold in a laugh. It was ridiculous; _life _energy? _Jutsus? _It sounded no more believable than a magician pulling a rabbit from his hat or voodoo dolls.

"He found some way to destroy my body, but keep my spirit—."

"But why can _I _see you?"

Sasuke merrily shrugged. "I believe a lot of people _can _see spirits; it's not a one-in-one-thousand sort of thing. But, there aren't many spirits. Havent you ever seen something, so odd looking, that you knew it couldn't be real? And you happened to be the only one too actually _see _it?"

Sakura then thought hard, back into her childhood, but could only think of silly things, like seeing a flash in the corner of her eye and seeing nothing there, just small things that didn't add up to having some spirit-seeing ability or anything.

Sakura stood there, waiting for him to continue, but he kept squiting up at the sky, as if he was looking for something. He showed no signs of continuing on, so Sakura finally spoke;

"Why are you haunting me, then?"

"Because I need your help," Sasuke replied. "I need you to help me get back to normal, and get another body."

"So you can live among the living?"

"That, yes, but something else."

"What?" Sakura said, her voice nearly a whisper. What else could he possibly want to do besides live?

"I want you to help me kill Itachi Uchiha," Sasuke said, his voice as cold as the air around him. Sakura gasped, and looked up at him, his red eyes calm and unwavering. Around him, the wind suddenly picked up, swirling around them both. The garden's dead leaves blew together and all was quiet but the sound of the whistling wind. At once, the paper lantern blew out, leaving them both in darkness.

**DUN DUN DUN! Okay, so this chapter was sort of just to push you in the direction I think I'm going with this.**

**And I've got a question: which POV should I use? First or Third?**

**As in, "she said" or, "i said" ? Please get back to me, I want to know what you guys prefer. **


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